What causes "No such `{attr}` in self._config" in microsoft/qlib?

Use dict-style access with a default: qlib.config.get('your_key', default) instead of attribute access.

microsoft/qlib · error · AttributeError

No such `{attr}` in self._config

Error message

No such `{attr}` in self._config

What it means

qlib's QlibConfig routes attribute access through __getattr__ into its internal _config dict. If the attribute name is not a key in the dict (and not a real instance attribute), it raises AttributeError with 'No such `attr` in self._config'. This usually means either the config key was never set (qlib.init not called or not setting that key) or the key name is wrong.

Source

Thrown at qlib/config.py:93

        if not self.get("provider_uri"):
            errors.append("provider_uri must be set (e.g. ~/.qlib/qlib_data or a valid path)")

        if not self.get("region"):
            errors.append("region must be specified (e.g. 'cn', 'us')")

        if errors:
            raise ValueError(
                "Invalid Qlib configuration (note: the global config has already been updated):\n"
                "Invalid Qlib configuration:\n- " + "\n- ".join(errors)
            )

    def __getitem__(self, key):
        return self.__dict__["_config"][key]

    def __getattr__(self, attr):
        if attr in self.__dict__["_config"]:
            return self.__dict__["_config"][attr]
        raise AttributeError(f"No such `{attr}` in self._config")

    def get(self, key, default=None):
        return self.__dict__["_config"].get(key, default)

    def __setitem__(self, key, value):
        self.__dict__["_config"][key] = value

    def __setattr__(self, attr, value):
        self.__dict__["_config"][attr] = value

    def __contains__(self, item):
        return item in self.__dict__["_config"]

    def __getstate__(self):
        return self.__dict__

    def __setstate__(self, state):
        self.__dict__.update(state)

View on GitHub (pinned to 79633dd950)

Solutions

Use dict-style access with a default: qlib.config.get('your_key', default) instead of attribute access.
Ensure qlib.init(...) ran in the process and passed the key you later read (extra kwargs to init land in the global config).
Check exact key spelling/case against what was passed to init; print qlib.config._config keys to see what is actually set.

Example fix

# before
val = qlib.config.my_custom_key  # AttributeError if unset
# after
val = qlib.config.get('my_custom_key', None)  # explicit default

Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

value = qlib.config.get('your_key')
if value is None:
    raise KeyError('your_key not set; call qlib.init(...) with it first')

Type guard

def has_config_key(key: str) -> bool:
    return key in qlib.config  # QlibConfig implements __contains__

Try / catch

try:
    v = qlib.config.your_key
except AttributeError:
    v = DEFAULT_VALUE

Prevention

Prefer .get(key, default) or 'key' in qlib.config over attribute access for optional keys.
Set custom keys via qlib.init(**kwargs) at startup so later attribute reads succeed.

When it happens

Trigger: Accessing qlib.config.<key> for a key that is not in the global config — e.g. a custom key read before any qlib.init sets it, or reading 'custom_ops'/'kernels' style keys that only exist after specific init arguments; also typos like qlib.config.provider (should be provider_uri).

Common situations: Library code that reads optional config keys directly instead of .get(); running utility modules standalone without init; key renamed across qlib versions.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/qlib@79633dd950 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/00d6fcbf9781c7a3. Report an issue: GitHub.